Can this person now be "a real estate" professional? 

I think the 10-14% rate is where it will be for the next five or so years personally so plenty of opportunity

Being a curious person, I gained an interest in real estate investing due to other classmates being interested in real estate.

Also interested in networking to learn more about my personal interest in STR's primarily in the Tampa, Bradenton, and Sarasota markets along with other southeast coastal and mountain markets. 

these investors were all chasing easy OOS cash flow:https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/963/topics/1195280-expe...https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1160450-run-i...https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1137397-balti...https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/1010977-12-00...if you're serious on investing in an OOS market i'd pick one, get to know it, go to it in person, and build a team, and then determine what would you need to do to get a good return in that market. 

Quote from @Michael Challenger: I have no qualms with hard money lending, but I need to learn more about the process and structure to these for typical deals so that I am more comfortable and in a position to reduce my personal risk and risk to investors as much as possible.

H there, I'm a certified international property specialist and while i don't personally specialize n Costa Rica,  have several colleagues who do.  

best of luck. make sure you are speaking to a knowledgeable person in your area as you might be getting false information

Hopefully, 2025 will reward us all who have stayed in the game. 

Yes I have owned 4 personal homes before but never an investment property.